Wednesday, February 05, 2014

NY Schools Observe Muslim Holidays, but Christmas?

As atheists and the liberal media work to expunge Christmas from public schools, the recently-elected far left New York Mayor de Blasio announced that all city schools will close to honor at least one pagan and two Muslim holidays.

Muslim families in New York City have been requesting official recognition for Islamic holidays in public schools for years now, but they may finally see some changes under new Mayor Bill de Blasio.

On Monday he discussed the issue on the Brian Lehrer Show, declaring that he planned to move forward with closing schools for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, as well as for the Lunar New Year.

Though Muslims appreciate his efforts, another community is feeling stiffed. De Blasio said on Monday that he hadn't yet taken a position on whether Diwali should be officially recognized with a day off for public schools.

Appearing on WNYC’s “Brian Lehrer Show” on Monday, the mayor said he hadn’t taken a position on whether Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated in India and other South Asian countries, should be a day off from school.

Estimates of the number of Muslims in New York City vary between 200,000 and 1,000,000. A website called A Journey Through NYC Religions guesstimates the number to be 600,000—roughly seven percent of the population.

The Lunar New Year is an important holiday in China and other East Asian nations. The date varies, but it’s in the winter.

According to a press release from Democrat Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the New York State Assembly, one in six New York City public school students is Asian American.